mmaboutsfandomcom-20200214-history
TJ Dillashaw
TJ Dillashaw is the former UFC bantamweight champion. Early UFC Career He most recently made his UFC debut against fellow finalist John Dodson to decide the Season 14 Bantamweight Ultimate Fighter. Dodson knocked Dillashaw out in the very first round to hand him his first loss. Dillashaw next faced Walel Watson, winning a dominant if aesthetically underwhelming unanimous decision. He then faced Vaughan Lee, winning via first-round rear-naked choke submission. Dillashaw was next set to face Mike Easton in late 2012 but he was injured and replaced by Bryan Caraway. Road to the Bantamweight Title Shot After recovering, Dillashaw himself stepped in as a replacement for an injured Mitch Gagnon against Issei Tamura in March 2013. Dillashaw knocked Tamura unconscious in the second round with a knee and punches. He next stepped in to replace Francisco Rivera against Hugo Viana. After a back-and-forth war Dillashaw defeated Viana via TKO near the end of the first round. Dillashaw next signed to fight veteran Raphael Assuncao. Assuncao defeated Dillashaw via a very close split decision. Dillashaw next signed to fight Mike Easton. Dillashaw defeated Easton via a dominant but exciting unanimous decision. Dillashaw signed to fight Takeya Mizugaki. UFC Bantamweight Champion Instead Dillashaw stepped in to fight UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao. Dillashaw dominated the highly touted Barao en route to a fifth round knockout victory to become the third UFC bantamweight champion. Dillashaw was set to fight an immediate rematch against Barao. The day of the weigh-ins Barao fell in his bathtub while cutting weight and the fight was called off. Or at least Barao's participation in it. He was replaced by UFC debutant and former Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto. Dillashaw knocked out the veteran Soto in the fifth round after a surprisingly competitive fight. Dillashaw was next set to face former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Before the fight he continuously called out UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo. In late December 2014 Cruz pulled out of the fight with a knee injury and the next contender Raphael Assuncao was also sidelined with an ankle injury at the same time. The only contender left standing that would halfway deserve the shot was Barao. The rematch took place with Dillashaw knocking out Barao in the fourth round this time. Losing the Title Dillashaw next defended his title against Dominick Cruz, the returning champ who had never actually lost the title - it had been stripped from him because of injuries. Cruz defeated Dillashaw via an extremely close decision. Dillashaw next signed for a rematch with Raphael Assuncao at the landmark UFC 200 event. He defeated Assuncao via a competitive but clear unanimous decision. Dillashaw took some time off campaigning for a title rematch against Cruz but lost out to undefeated contender Cody Garbrandt. Dillashaw was very vocal that he thought Cruz was ducking him but gave up for the moment and signed to fight another top contender John Lineker in a fight that was sure to decide the next number one contender for Cruz's title. Fights *John Dodson vs. TJ Dillashaw - The fight was the UFC debut of both men, to decide the bantamweight winner of Season 14 of TUF. The fight was TJ's first loss. *TJ Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson *TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao 2 - The fight was for the UFC bantamweight title with TJ Dillashaw defending. *Dominick Cruz vs. TJ Dillashaw - The fight was for the UFC bantamweight title with TJ Dillashaw defending. *TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao 2 Category:Bantamweight fighters Category:UFC bantamweight champions